


The Innocent Shall Be Spared.

by Idontknowmanijustlikereading



Series: The dragon prince crack/fluff/angst [3]
Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Aanya is a CHILD, Aanya is a little shit, Fluff, Multi, Runaan has a heart, Runaan has a soft spot for children, Small reunion, Violence but not graphic, free the parents!, that loves to give people heart attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:09:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26991946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idontknowmanijustlikereading/pseuds/Idontknowmanijustlikereading
Summary: Avizandum wanted more than to just kill the queens that had invaded his land. So he sent Runaan and Kuutamo to kill the heir to the Durenian throne. But will Runaan mercilessly kill a child? Or will this child remind him too much of his own ward, rendering him incapable of killing her?
Relationships: Callum/Rayla (Background), Ethari/Runaan (The Dragon Prince)
Series: The dragon prince crack/fluff/angst [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1927717
Comments: 13
Kudos: 36





	The Innocent Shall Be Spared.

**Author's Note:**

> This idea is inspired by Beautifulterriblequeen's hc on tumblr so all credit goes to them for allowing me to use their idea!

_Drip, drip, drip._

The rain in Duren was neither cold, nor warm. It simply annoyed Runaan with its presence. He and his superior had been travelling for almost two weeks to get to the capital, Beryltgarden, where their newest target lived. The queen of Duren.

The dragon king had not been satisfied with simply ending the queens who dared step into Xadia. He wanted to send a message, so he sent Runaan and Kuutamo to kill the heir to the Durenian throne. Bound to their duty, they had accepted and now they were here, quietly jumping through the slippery trees under the first quarter moon.

Runaan was no stranger to killing. He took life, but he didn't take it easily. The bow blade on his back a heavy reminder of that. But if his king deemed a sacrifice necessary for Xadias safety, he would gladly make it.

Soon the safe tree branches were switched with wet pathways leading to the garden outside the palace. They had arrived.

Kuutamo raised his hand and Runaan stopped immediately at the gesture. The two of them stood deathly still, hidden in the shadows but listening. _There_. Voices.

"I'm going to switch with Razu. It's his turn on guard duty." A chuckle. Runaan scowled at the sound.

"Good luck getting him to work!" Both of them could hear the first guard walking towards their hiding spot.

"He'll have to. In these times everyone has to do their part." The guard was right beside them when Kuutamo made a sharp gesture with his left hand before jumping out and quickly knocking the guard out. Runaan had interpreted the gesture and made quick work of the second guard.

Kuutamo came up behind him and gave him a sharp nod before they both rushed in through the door the soldiers had been guarding.

Inside the castle the hallways were slim but had plenty of room to the ceiling. The blue and white colours looked gray in the darkness. The few guards they could hear were far away and would not be a threat. Until they were. In their search they had been careless. Only focusing on the distant voices not the ones just around the corner. It was a rookie mistake, not fitting for two of the best assassins in Xadia. 

"Intruders!" Was what snapped their attention to the group of guards patrolling. There were four of them, how had he missed them? Their failure cost them. The guard who had shouted was the first to act by shooting at Kuutamo. By the elves standards the soldier's aim was sloppy and inaccurate, but having caught them by surprise Runaan's leader was barely able to dodge. The other humans took as much notice of this as Runaan and two of the other soldiers went to attack Kuutamo while he was distracted and the remaining one went after Runaan. He was able to quickly stab his soldier in the throat with his right blade while he threw his left one into the back of the one about to stab Kuutamo. He couldn’t do anything about the third one however.

“Kuutamo! Behind!” There was no easy solution to that fight. Kuutamo whirled around and stabbed the soldier in the gut, but when he did, the archer who had never ceased fire hit his mark. One arrow in the right shoulder, another one in the left hip, making Kuutamo unable to keep standing. He fell to the floor with a thud while Runaan threw his remaining sword at the archer, successfully hitting him in the stomach. Red liquid splattered the wall. He must have stood still for too long because Kuutamo had gotten up and growled at him.

“Runaan, go. I’ll make sure nobody finds the bodies.” 

“And leave you here to bleed out? Don't be foolish!” He scowled when his superior only glared at him.

“You’re the foolish one! I’ve got healing crystals, I'll be fine! But if you don’t hurry up the next shift of guards are going to tatle and heighten the security! We’re not gonna get another shot until the full moon!” 

Runaan scoffed, annoyed with being wrong, but the root of it was worry for his friend. Pushing the feeling down he gave Kuutamo a sharp nod before rushing down the hall, this time carefully listening to _all_ the sounds around him.

The castle was big and it took far too long for Runaan's liking to finally find the heirs chamber. It was the only room he had run past that had two guards stationed outside of it. Climbing up to the ceiling, he quietly made his way to right above the guards before dropping down between the two and stabbing them in their necks while landing. They fell to the ground with the armour clanging loudly against the marble floor. The familiar iron scent filled his nostrils as he slowly opened the big double door to the chamber. It was a surprise that the heir did not wake up from the noise. He scoffed to himself. If they didn't wake it was their own fault.

The room was huge, another sign that humans were not modest creatures. _The sunfires do the same_ , an annoying voice whispered in his head, but he ignored it. While the room was large, it didn't hold much furniture. A desk by the balcony, ( _why didn't we just sneak in through there?,_ ) some armchairs by a firepit and a closet were the only decor except for the bed. He walked closer. It was empty. No, when he stood right next to the bed he could see a small figure breathing short and ragged breaths. 

Runaan's own breath had caught in his throat. He had expected someone young, maybe a teenager, but this? This was a child. No, this was a toddler! A sleeping toddler who looked to be having nightmares. The small girl was clutching the bed sheets in her tiny hands so hard her knuckles were white. It was a familiar scene, he had had to wake his ward up many times in similar scenarios.

-

_"Rayla." He gently shook the little one's shoulder. She didn't wake._

_"Rayla." He shook a little harder and said her name a little louder. Her violet eyes snapped open and before Runaan could say anything else, she had launched herself at him, clinging to his neck and sobbing into his shoulder. Even though his husband was the emotional one, Runaan didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around Raylas shaking frame in a comforting embrace._

_"Shh, you're okay little moonbeam, you're safe." He whispered to her while gently stroking her short hair._

_"I am, but they aren't!" Runaan didn't need clarification, he knew who she was talking about._

_"Rayla…. Your parents are the best fighters in the Silvergrove. They can handle everything."_

_"But what if they can’t?"_

_"They can, Rayla, they have never failed before, they won't start now. Especially since they have to come home to you sooner or later."_

_The sobs continued for a couple of minutes more but the small elfling in his arms soon relaxed and stopped making noises at all. Asleep. Runaan laid her back in bed with a small smile and a kiss on the forehead. He would do anything to protect his little moonbeam._

-

Without thinking, Runaan slowly put the blades down at the foot of the bed. The blood coloured parts of the blue sheets purple but he didn't see it. He carefully reached out and shook the child’s shoulder.

"Kid." She didn't wake.

"Kid." He shook a little harder and called a little louder. The child startled and snapped her eyes open. It took only a second for her to spot him. Yellow eyes locking on blue. But instead of Runaan getting tackled by the child, she scrambled over to the other side of the bed and stared at him in fear. _Fear._ He wasn't unfamiliar with people being scared of him. Most of the time he welcomed it. But hearing the girls terrified breathing broke something in his chest.

"Hey, shh, shh. I'm not going to hurt you." _What? He needed to kill her!_

Her eyes flicked to his swords laying on the bed and Runaan inhaled sharply.

"Yes, I have weapons, but I'm not going to harm you. I promise." _No, kill her! It is your duty!_

He slowly reached for his blades but when the girl shuffled even farther back he stopped and held up the palms of his hands, showing a peaceful gesture before reaching again, connecting the blades back into a bow and hanging it over his shoulder.

"See? I'm not going to harm you." He held his hands back up and the girl looked at him. Still scared but her breathing was more normal from what Runaan could hear. 

“What's your name?” The girl only watched him but Runaan was nothing if not patient. She moved a little as if testing what he would allow her to do. 

“Aanya”, came a quiet voice at last. He gave her a small smile.

“It’s nice to meet you Aanya, my name is Runaan.” He saw her nod slightly.

"You're an elf." The statement made him chuckle slightly.

"Keen observation. I'm an elf." The child looked a little more relaxed but he could still see the caution in her movements.

"Elves are supposed to be in Xadia." Aanya had furrowed her small eyebrows and slurred a little on the pronunciation of "Xadia".

"Yes we are." 

"Then why are you here?" Runaan hesitated before answering.

"You had a nightmare." to an adult, his answer wouldn't have made any sense, but to the girl, it was enough. 

"Are you here to protect me from the bad dreams?" Her words were becoming more slurred and he could tell she was close to passing out. 

"Yes." His answer was short because he didn't know what else to say. She slowly shuffled back to the middle of the bed while he sat down on the edge.

 _His target was right there. It would be so simple to just…_ He didn't finish his train of thoughts because a small hand had grabbed his thumb and now the child was examining his hand. 

"You only have four fingers…. That's cool…" 

He chuckled calmly. _What was wrong with him?_

"Yes, but you need to sleep now, little one." 

He made sure to keep his voice soft so he wouldn't startle the half asleep child.

"But that's when the terrors start…." 

If Runaan's heart melted before, it clenched now. This child was the heir to the Durenian throne. She couldn't be more than two years old. Both her parents were dead, killed by the dragon king himself. It wasn't hard to figure out what she dreamt about.

"We already established this, little sun ray. I'm going to protect you from the bad dreams." 

He gently squeezed her little hand in his but the only reply he got was a quiet hum. As he had observed before the child had been seconds away from falling asleep. Those seconds were now up.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed with his target right beside him. Logically, he could stab her right then and there and his mission would be complete, but emotionally? He couldn't do it. This child would not pay for her mother's crimes.

He wouldn't do it. Aanya had done nothing wrong except being born to humans. He cannot punish her for that. Runaan was going against direct orders from his king, but if Avizandum wanted to kill a child he could do it himself. Because Runaan refused.

The decision being made he carefully stood up and snuck out through the balcony. ( _He learned his lesson)_.

Walking up to the rendezvous point he unsheathed his swords and held his head high. 

Kuutamo was sitting on a fallen tree with a crystal held against his shoulder. The hip wound was already healed. The older assassin looked up when Runaan came closer and tilted his head slightly. Runaan gave a shallow nod as an answer before he walked past him to clean his blades. For a while he could feel his friends gaze on his back before he heard him get up and place a hand on his shoulder.

"The life of an assassin isn't easy, boy. I hope you made the right choice." Then he walked back to the fallen tree, leaving Runaan to pray that he did, indeed, do the right thing.

  
  
  
  
  
  


BONUS:

The darkness in the coin had been suffocating, but now the light of the world was blinding. He yelled and immediately stopped at the volume of his voice. He didn't know when but he had fallen down and hit the marble floor but it had _hurt._ Strong, familiar hands grabbed him by the shoulders and helped him to his feet. He had to use the other person to lean most of his weight on, since he could barely move at all.

"It's okay, I've got you love. You're okay." _Love? Ethari?!_ His weak state was forgotten as he scrambled to get his hands around his husband's neck. Opening his eyes still hurt but he had to see his face. They were both crying when another voice came from across the room.

"Runaan!" 

Rayla.

His little moonbeam was clutching his midsection within a second and he was clutching right back. He let out a breathless laugh because he was _back._ He was back and he was with his family.

"Rayla, could you please go and tell your parents?" His husband's voice brought him out of his thoughts and he finally took it all in for real. They were standing in a big building with high ceilings and blue and white colours. He recognized it but his mind was still not completely there yet so he couldn't put his finger on why. 

"Love? You there?" Runaan looked at his husband and smiled.

"Yes, my heart. I'm here." His love gently cuffed his face and looked at him with tear brimmed eyes before resting his head against Runaan's chest and sniffling.

"I thought I lost you." Runaan carefully grabbed his chin and brought his face back up to his.

"I promised I'd bring your heart back to you." He said before kissing him softly.

-

The rest of the day went by in a blur. Ethari and Rayla spent their time catching him up. It had been a year since he had been trapped, her parents hadn't run away, instead the dark mage imprisoned them as well. The war had ended (mostly), Rayla was dating the prince (he only approved after they told him Callum jumped off a cliff for her) and they were currently in Duren. The last part worried Runaan. But not as much as when Rayla started dragging him and her parents towards the throne room to meet the _queen_ of Duren and the king of Katolis.

"Runaan don't be a grump! They are both really good people and they won't care yer elves!" 

"Rayla, that was not my concern! It's just…." Aaaand they were there. He had no way of getting out of this.

"Aw, c'mon Rune! We are getting to meet two monarchs!" Lain threw one of his arms over Runaan's shoulders.

"Tiadrin, please control your…." His (now former) friend held up a hand and snorted to cut him off.

"Nope. I personally think it's _cool_ that we're meeting the king and queen of entire nations!"

Rayla made an approving noise before opening the large doors to the throne room where the two monarchs were located.

King Ezran was on them almost immediately.

"So you guys are Raylas parents? It's nice to finally meet you! I mean I've met Ethari and he's really nice, but now I get to meet all of you!" The kid was practically jumping up and down and a treaturus part of Runaan's brain thought it was adorable.

"Aanya! They're here!" His heart dropped onto the floor.

"Yes, I know! I just need to finish this paper. It's alright I'm listening." The queen herself was standing by the desk and writing on a paper. _She had grown quite a bit_. Runaan scoffed to himself. Of course she'd grown, last time he saw her she was a toddler.

"Right! We'll Rayla told us a little about you guys! You're Tiadrin, great with a sword. You're Lain, the one with the braid. And you must be Runaan, the grumpy one!" He heard his best friends laughing but it was distant because now that his mind wasn't foggy, he could easily see the queen freeze up and clench her jaw. Apparently Rayla had also noticed.

"Aanya? You okay?" The queen looked up and Runaan could tell that she was keeping her expression carefully neutral while looking at Rayla.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Then yellow eyes locked on blue. Again. There was no denying it. She knew exactly who he was and what he had done. The previously happy and light atmosphere was replaced with something cold as she walked up the group and stopped in front of Runaan.

"What did you say your name was?" Her face remained neutral.

"Runaan." He answered automatically.

"Runaan." She repeated. The girl he had seen back then was gone. This girl was not scared or tense. This girl was strong and competent enough to kill him right there if she wished. But she didn't. Instead her mouth turned into a smirk that Runaan recognized all too well since Rayla wore the same expression when she was about to do something she wasn't allowed to.

"Well it's nice to see you again, Runaan. It's been a while, though I'm glad you left your bowblade back home this time around." 

_That little smartass._

"Runaan. What did you do?" Tiadrin was glaring at him. He sighed and he knew he wouldn't get out of that conversation, but instead of answering immediately, he turned back to Aanya.

"Did you sleep well?" He could feel the confusion radiating off the others in waves, and the little queen's smirk grew into something more sincere.

"Yes, actually I did." Runaan smiled slightly and the shocked gasps from the rest of the group were priceless.

"I told you."

**Author's Note:**

> I got the bonus scene in my head and couldn't get it out so there it is. Constructive criticism is appreciated!
> 
> (Here is the hc by beautifullterriblequeen: https://beautifulterriblequeen.tumblr.com/post/189009305700/not-that-hard-an-aanya-and-runaan-headcanon ) 
> 
> Have a lovely day and happy reading/writing! <3


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